School meals as a safety net: An evaluation of the midday meal scheme in India

Despite the popularity of school meals as interventions in education, little evidence exists on their effect on health outcomes. This study uses newly available longitudinal data from the State of Andhra Pradesh in India to assess the impact of the introduction of a national midday meal programme on the anthropometric z-scores of primary school students, and investigates whether the programme had any impact on ameliorating the deterioration of health in young children resulting from a severe drought. Correcting for self-selection into the programme using a non-linearity in the probability of enrolment, we find that the programme acts as a safety net for children, cushioning them from negative nutritional factors; in particular, there are large and significant health gains for children whose families were affected by the drought.© Young Lives 2012. All rights reserved. Reproduction, copy, transmission, or translation of any part of this publication may be made only under the following conditions: • with the prior permission of the publisher; or • with a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd., 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE, UK, or from another national licensing agency; or • under the terms set out below. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for teaching or non-profit purposes, but not for resale. Formal permission is required for all such uses, but normally will be granted immediately. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher and a fee may be payable. Available from: Young Lives Oxford Department of International Development (ODID) University of Oxford Queen Elizabeth House 3 Mansfield Road Oxford OX1 3TB, UK Tel: +44 (0)1865 281751 E-mail: younglives@younglives.org.uk Web: www.younglives.org.u